Cross Selling, an Effective Marketing Strategy to Drive Organisation’s Top-Line

The evolving world has made service-oriented organisations employ cross-selling as a necessary marketing strategy. Cross-selling is to persuade someone of the merits of related or complementary products to existing customers.

For a professional services firm, selling different services to its clients at the same time places the firm at a great advantage. Cross-selling is one of the easiest ways of growing a business’ existing relationships and increasing the knowledge of the clients’ pain points (their demands and needs).

As good as cross-selling is to an organisation, not developing a proper strategy for it could mar the process. The basic strategies may include:

• Proper training on selling value to the customers: Customers need to see the bigger picture in every cross-selling attempt.
• Understand the timing: the sellers must understand the right time to cross-sell other products and services to consumers/clients. Cross-selling is most effective when the initial need of the client has been met and not at the start of negotiation or middle of a negotiation.
• Understand the client: Understanding the client’s buying behaviours will assist in cross-selling. This will further equip the seller/marketers to present the right offer at the right time.

The key objective of cross-selling is either to increase the income from the client or to protect the relationship. With this in mind, it is important to ensure that the additional product or service being sold would add value to the client. The client has to see benefit before the price becomes attractive whether getting a discount or not.

It should be noted that cross-selling is still selling, which means the seller needs to help the customer/client solve a problem or fulfil a desire. The seller should be on the lookout for opportunities to cross-sell. Most cross-selling opportunities come up naturally when the seller listens to the customers/clients and have proper knowledge of the offerings.

Advantages of Cross Selling

Builds customer loyalty

Since it provides the opportunity to solve clients’ problems, it would also ensure that the client remains with the seller as there will be no economic justification to go elsewhere.

Improves profitability, lowers the price

Most cross-sales involve some kind of discount, which means the seller may make less on the services/products than if sold alone. The point, however, is that without the cross-selling deal, the client may  have looked elsewhere. Therefore, rather than leave the money to competitors charge less and increase overall profitability.

Strengthens customer relationship

The client sees the seller as having his (the client) interest at heart because the pitched products/services are needed by the client to solve problems, grow and expand the business. Through cross-selling, the seller shows the client that he (the seller) understands the client’s business and needs.

Develop more sales leads

Cross-selling leads to more sales and referrals from the client to other business owners who desire the same offerings and services.

Cross-selling is a win-win for both the seller and the client. The client wins by having its problems solved and paying less for the service/product. The seller wins by using the advantage of existing services to gain more in-roads into the organisation, expanding its network to other businesses and saving on associated cost of such opportunity going through the tender board.

Organisations must train its staff on the general knowledge of its offerings and how to spot opportunities when one presents itself (whether during a conversation or while on an engagement), irrespective of business lines. This knowledge will help to reduce the loss of business opportunities to competitors, which inversely affects the firm’s top-line.